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Roland Deschain
Roland Deschain is the protagonist and antihero of The Dark Tower Series. He is the son of Steven and Gabrielle Deschain and is the last of a long line of "gunslingers", peacekeepers and diplomats of Roland's society. He is also the final human descendant of Arthur Eld. His image and personality are largely inspired by the "Man with No Name" from three of Sergio Leone's westerns, though his quest and many of his personal and internal conflicts are drawn from Robert Browning's poem Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came. History Roland was born to Steven and Gabrielle Deschain in the land of Gilead. Not much is known about Roland's past other than what is revealed in flashbacks. Steven's success as a gunslinger causes most of Gilead to believe Roland will be a great gunslinger as well. Childhood We know his mother used to sing for him the 'Baby-Bunting Rhyme' where he fist heard the word 'chassit' at nap times but not at bed, because boys needed to handle the darkness on their own. We also know about the witnessing the hanging of Hax, a cook who was an ally to Farson and was more than willing to poison the children of Taunton. Roland and his friend, Cuthbert, turned Hax in after accidently over hearing his conversation with a guard. He and his family spent alot of time on vacation along the shores of Lake Soroni with his pet dog Ringo. When he was a little older he began to follow his father on short trips to Sheriff's Offices in neighbouring cities and once all the the way to the Downland Baronies. Earning of Guns Marten Broadcloak invited Roland into Gabrielle's bedchamber, displaying for Roland their affair. Furious, Roland challenged his mentor Cort to earn his guns and kill Marten. Cort accepts this challenge, but reminds young Roland that if he fails he will be sent west to the wastelands. (Roland later meets a failed gunslinger, one Eldred Jonas when he travels to Hambry) Roland does not back down from his challenge of Cort. He is allowed one weapon; which he chooses his hawk, David. With this weapon choice Roland triumphs above Cort and earns his guns at the unheard of age of fourteen (Steven earned his at the age of sixteen which made him the youngest at the time). Upon earning his guns, Roland buys a prostitute as a right of manhood. Roland is rudely awakened by his father who tells him that he has forgotten his father's face. Roland replies that he has not and it was with him the entire time during his test against Cort. Steven then tells Roland that Marten is furious for passing this test and plans to kill him (Marten knew Roland would take the test, but did not believe he would be successful). Love Affair with Susan Steven sent Roland (with his ka-tet Cuthbert and Alain) east to the town of Hambry to keep him safe from Marten Broadcloak. In Hambry, Roland met a girl named Susan Delgado along the side of the road. Susan was coming from Rhea of the Cöos' house where she had been checked for her "honesty" (virginity) as well as given a hypnotic suggestion to be triggered by losing her virginity, so that once Mayor Thorin takes her to bed on Reap night, she will cut off all her hair, and be less attractive to Mayor Thorin. Upon meeting Roland (known to her as Will Dearborn) Susan falls in love with him and Roland with her. The love for Susan eventually clouds Roland's reasoning as he knows Susan has been promised to Mayor Thorin. Roland is told by Susan to make love to her which he does. Shortly after making love Susan goes to cut off her hair, but is stopped by Roland - who at first mistook her actions to be an attempt at suicide, and he hurts her wrist taking the sharpened stone away from her, breaking the trance. Eventually, Roland, with Alain's help, hypnotizes Susan to find out why she tried to disfigure herself - under hypnosis she also makes the comment 'it is Pink.' Implying the presence of Maerlyn's Grapefruit - and that it may have uses in addition to the known use of far-seeing and other traditional 'crystal ball' like powers. Roland makes love to Susan many times and eventually impregnates her. Rhea, in the meantime has found out about this thanks to Maerlyn's Grapefruit and is furious. Mayor Thorin is murdered by Roy Depape who leaves Cuthbert's bird skull known as "the lookout" at the scene. Roland and his ka-tet are arrested and taken to jail for killing Mayor Thorin. Roland and his ka-tet manage to escape from jail with the help of Susan. Roland and his ka-tet set out for a battle against The Good Man. Roland tells Susan to hide with Sheemie in a hut in the Bad Grass and wait for his return, if he does not return she is to take his guns to his father and tell him what happened. While waiting for Roland, Susan is discovered by the Big Coffin Hunters and is taken back to town by Clay Reynolds. Susan is held prisoner at Mayor Thorin's house. She is freed by Olive Thorin. Her attempt to escape is proven futile as she is captured once more. She is then taken through town and burned as a Charyou Tree. Her last words were "Roland, I love thee." Battle with The Good Man As a boy, Roland and Cuthbert overheard Hax the Cook talking with a solider about poisoning children in Taunton (a town called Farson in the original draft) for the sake of "The Good Man". Roland and Cuthbert told their fathers thus leading to the hanging of Hax. This is also one of the first times Roland hears about The Good Man. During his visit to Hambry, Roland and his ka-tet discover that Mayor Hart Thorin and the town are allied with The Good Man. Hambry is giving their oil for John Fason's war machines. Whilst in Hambry Roland, Cuthbert, and Alain come across three men working for John Farson "The Good Man". The men are Roy Depape, Clay Reynolds, and Eldred Jonas otherwise known as the Big Coffin Hunters. Roland and his ka-tet defeat the Big Coffin Hunters and also take from them Maerlyn's Grapefruit. Through the Grapefruit, Roland discovered the Tower is certainly a physical reality, not a legend or a concept, and also witnessed Susan's death. During the return to Gilead Roland's mind become trapped inside the Grapefruit and meets the Crimson King for the first time, from it he learns of their shared ancestry and is eventually saved from it by Sheemie. Roland becae obsessed with the sphere in much the same way as Rhea of the Cöos and this obsession made him believe Rhea was after him and due to this he mistakenly kills his mother who tries to steal the sphere from Gilead. The capture of the Grapefruit drew Farson's attention directly to Gilead sooner than expected, thus leading to the fall of Gilead which was followed by the Battle at Jericho Hill. During the Battle at Jericho Hill, all of the gunslingers (Roland excluded) were killed. Not much is known as to what happened to John Farson after this battle (many suspect that he and Walter Padick are one in the same but this is revealed in The Dark Tower and The Gunslinger Born this is not the case). Quest for the Tower Little Sisters of Eluria The first encounter with Roland Deschian is during his pursuit for the man in black. Roland, while still young, comes to a deserted town called Eluria where he is attacked by slow mutants. After being attacked by the mutants, Roland awakens in a hospital run by vampires. Roland begins to care for one of the vampires, Sister Jenna as she and the others take care of him. Roland also meets a boy named John Norman who tells him the nurses are vampires. Sister Jenna begins to give Roland herbs to help him heal. Roland discovers the only reason the vampires haven't killed him is because he is wearing a gold necklace with God written on it, something he discovers when John (who is also wearing one) is killed by removing it. Roland and Sister Jenna soon escape but are stopped by Sister Mary the head of the organization. However, Sister Mary is killed by the Jesus Dog, a dog with a cross on it Roland discovered in town. Roland and Jenna go to a cave and sleep. When Roland awakes he finds Jenna has turned into a swarm of doctor bugs. Roland moves on towards the Mohaine Desert. The Gunslinger The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed. The first actual encounter with Roland Deschain is in the Mohaine Desert as he searches for the man in black. As he crosses the desert Roland encounters a hermit by the name of Brown and his bird Zoltan. During his stay with Brown, Roland tells about the town of Tull and his stay there. Roland had arrived in Tull during his pursuit of the man in black. In Tull, Roland met Nort, a local weed eater who had recently died, and Allie. He takes Allie to bed to discover what happened to the weed eater to which she responds with a story of how Nort died and was brought back to life by the man in black. Roland decides to stay in the town for a bit and meets Sylvia Pittston, the pastor at the local church. She reveals she has been impregnated by the man in black with a child of the Crimson King. Roland uses his gun to rape the unborn child out of Sylvia. An outraged Sylvia turns the entire town against Roland and they begin to attack but the gunslinger uses his guns and kills the entire population of the town of Tull. Roland finishes his story still in the confines of Brown's hut and the next day moves on. As Roland crosses the desert he comes across a waystation and meets a young boy named Jake. Jake is a boy who seems to be from another world, thus Roland hypnotizes him to reveal where he's from. The boy is actually from New York City and was murdered by a man in black, Roland believes this is the same one he now pursues. As they prepare to leave, Roland goes down into the cellar for some food. In the cellar a demon speaks to Roland, after their palaver Roland reaches into the hole the demon was speaking from and pulls free a jawbone. He and Jake depart from the way starion and begin their trek across the desert. They eventually come to a mountanous range and camp for the night. Roland awakens to find Jake is missing and goes looking for him. He finds Jake, who is about to be seduced by a succubus. The gunslinger gives the jawbone to Jake and has him go back to camp while Roland seduces the succubus instead. Whilst coupled with the succubus he discovers his fate and the path to the tower. Roland and Jake continue on their venture into the mountains where they come across a gang of Slow Mutants. Roland battles with the mutants and they eventually come upon the exit of the cavern, where the man in black is waiting for them. Jake trips on a bridge leading to the way out and Roland has a choice: to catch the man in black and let Jake die, or save Jake and never catch the man in black. Roland lets Jake fall to his death, forever being haunted by his words "there are other worlds than these." Roland leaves the cavern and finally catches the man in black. They meet in a golgotha and palaver. The man in black reads Roland's fate from Tarot cards. Roland's fate includes The Sailor, The Prisoner, The Lady of Shadows, death, life (which the man in black burns), and the Tower at the center of everything. The man in black tells Roland he is only a pawn for Roland's true enemy who now controls the Tower itself. The man in black tries to convince Roland to give up on his quest by creating a representation of the universe and showing him how insignificant he is. Roland refuses and is forced into sleep. When he awakens, ten years have passed and there is a skeleton next to him, which he believes to be the man in black. Roland departs from the golgotha and sits at the edge of the Western Sea contemplating the next step in his quest for the Dark Tower. Gallery Category:The Dark Tower Characters Category:The White Category:Men